30th NOVEMBER 2008
Advent
Blessings to you all as we enter this Advent season. There is a lovely image and reflection on the forum for Advent - check it out soon & post your reflections. Also I would like to remind you that there are many Advent resources in the library that may be helpful to you. Finally, there is an Advent reflection 'Waiting and Hoping' by Mark Davis on the Current theme page of the resources section.
Resources
Don't forget that we have books, images and a set of 'cards for contemplation' for sale, all of which might inspire you or make lovely gifts for others. Check out the Resources section for more details.
15th OCTOBER 2008
Christian Resources Exhibition
A number of us attended the Harrogate exhibition to promote Conversare. This was a very enjoyable event and we had the opportunity to talk to a great many people about Conversare. Thank you to those of you who visited our stand and a warm welcome to our new Associates who joined during the event.
Breathing Spaces Book
We are very fortunate to have a new publication written by Mark Davis, with design and photography by Ged Barrow. This is a beautifully presented 'how to' manual for spiritual conversation and we would reccommend it to anyone involved in groups that meet for a spiritual purpose. Those of you who have been Associates for more than 6 months will soon be sent a complimentary copy. Copies can be purchased from Conversare - see the 'publications' page in the Resources section for details.
4th SEPTEMBER 2008
Training
We are planning a Facilitators training weekend for 10th-12th of October. The aim is to cover the basic skills and attitudes required to facilitate spiritual conversation groups, enabling the participants to go away and ‘have a go’ at starting their own groups. This could be a stand alone event, or people could join a follow up event further down the line if they wanted to take it further. Please phone or email Sue Brown if you would like to know more.
Growth
We would like to encourage more people to become Associates of Conversare. We believe that a larger community will enable individuals to make more connections and support each other more effectively. We are taking two key steps during September to encourage growth:
Firstly regarding costs - we are reducing the cost of becoming an Associate from £40 per year to £24. This can be paid by cheque or by monthly or quarterly standing order. If your annual subscription is due soon, you will now only need to pay £24. We will contact individual Associates regarding the renewal of their subscriptions.
The second step we are taking is to attend the Christian Resources Exhibition in Harrogate to promote Conversare to a much wider audience. We will have a stand on the first floor of the exhibition hall - if you are able to attend we would love to see you. We have a number of free tickets for the exhibition which we will send out to all Associates living in the North of England. Please contact us if you do not receive tickets but would like some..
9th JULY 2008
This month we continue to develop our overall theme of 'Community & Belonging', with the focus specifically on Companionship. This will be the subject of our next on-line conversation on Thursday 10th July at 8.30pm. Checkout the forum for a lovely poem and image for reflection.
The current theme page (in Resources section) now contains a piece of prose by John Stott which reflects upon what we can learn about companionship from our 'feathered friends'.
1st JUNE 2008
Over the coming months we will continue to develop and reflect upon the overall theme of ‘community and belonging’ both through the on-line forum and the Current Theme section.
During June we will focus on Returning to Community. This will also be the subject for our reflection in our next on-line conversation on Monday 2 nd June at 8.30pm.
The current theme page now contains a short reflection from Kathy Galloway on Jesus approach to those who had been excluded from community.
26th APRIL 2008
We have recently added a new theme to the Resource Library entitled ‘Living in Community’. This contains seven sessions exploring such issues as; Expectations; Companionship; Discord; Intimacy; Rebellion; Acceptance and Communion.
Check out the Resource Library for all the recent additions.
To complement this, the Current Theme page in the Resource Section, now has a reflection by John O’Donohue entitled ‘Our Hunger to Belong’. This will also be the subject for our reflection in the on-line conversation on Monday 28th April at 8.30pm.
Over the coming months we will continue to develop and reflect upon the overall theme of ‘community and belonging’ both through the on-line forum and the Current Theme section.
20th MARCH 2008
Theme
The theme we are currently exploring is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You will find some reflections on the current theme page and in the on-line conversation place.
6 th MARCH 2008
Training
We are planning a Facilitators training weekend for 16 th-18 th of May. The aim is to cover the basic skills and attitudes required to facilitate spiritual conversation groups, enabling the participants to go away and ‘have a go’ at starting their own groups. This could be a stand alone event, or people could join a follow up event further down the line if they wanted to take it further.
Please contact Sue Brown if you would like to know more about it, or view further details here.
On-line conversation
Our first on-line conversation evening in February went well. Those who took part seemed to value the experience and many people emailed to say that although they could not join that one, they would like to take part in future.
We will make this a monthly event for a few months and then evaluate it.
The next one will take place on Wednesday 12 th March from 8.30pm onwards – I hope you can join us!
DECEMBER 2007
Theme
The theme we are currently exploring is 'Waiting and Hoping during Advent'. This is the first in a new series of resources exploring 'Seasons of the Christian Calendar', that we will introduce over the coming months,. You will find some reflections on the Current Theme page and in the On-Line Forum
Resources
On the Resource Library page you will find a link to the Bible Gateway - a searchable on-line resource that we hope you will find helpful. We have started to populate the 'non-theme' sections of the resource library with biographical notes and other interesting articles. This is something we will develop more in the coming weeks.
Groups & Workshops
We have a couple of spiritual conversation groups running at Venture House in Heswall which are proving to be very rewarding for everyone involved. It would be great if you could let us know if you are involved in any groups in your area & how they are going.
Mark Davis & Sue Brown recently ran a workshop on 'Communities in Conversation' for a group in Immingham. This was very well received and we enjoyed it very much. Please contact us if you would like to talk about workshops or training or maybe we could support you to get spiritual conversation up and running in your area..
